Hospital gets new rehabilitation unit

Sault Area Hospital is hoping that a new 26-bed assess and restore unit (SAH) will help patients become more self-reliant sooner, reducing their stays, says Marie Paluzzi, SAH's newly appointed vice president and chief operating officer.

Paluzzi told SAH board members this week that the new unit will address the needs of many of SAH's alternative-level-of-care patients who aren't waiting for a space in a long-term-care facility.

The program is mainly aimed at people who could be returning home.

"It's helping patients to do for themselves and to build the confidence to go home," said Paluzzi.

She said it's been found that patients deteriorate when they spend too long in hospital and this is particularly true of the elderly.

"The unit is intended to help patients once they have finished their acute illness to build up their ability to return home."

Paluzzi said the 26-bed unit will accomplish this rehabilitation through a focus on services such as occupational therapy, physical therapy and other services.

A key to the program is having a strong team with the nurses and personal support workers who help patients to help themselves.

This takes extra time but has great benefit in building confidence and restores patients’ ability to look after themselves, Paluzzi said.

Physicians and family also play a key role in the program.

Paluzzi added that the new unit will help alleviate overcrowding by helping patients leave the hospital sooner than they would have without a rehabilitation program.

"The longer that patients are debilitated the longer they will stay in hospital," Paluzzi said. "If we can help them to improve their function they may be able to go home sooner, especially with support either from family or from Community Care Access Centre (CCAC)."

Health care professionals will refer patients to CCAC to be assessed for either long-term care, rehabilitative care or convalescent care.

Patients who require between five and 90 days of extra services to build up their functionality could then be referred to the new hospital assess and restore unit for any number of therapies, depending on their needs.

These could also include mental health therapies to ensure the patient has the confidence and self-assurance to be able to function with sufficient independence, something that can sometimes be an issue after a prolonged acute illness, Paluzzi said.

Thanks to support from the North East LHIN through aging-at-home funding, a few new staff members were hired and several existing staff members were offered further training to staff the unit.

A physiotherapist and an occupational therapist have been hired to work with the physiotherapy and occupational therapy aides at the hospital.

In addition, several SAH staffers have been certified in restorative care.

"We will be increasing the number of personal support workers who will be available," said Paluzzi. "We have a social worker associated with the program and also a CCAC case manager."